I’ve been away, but now I’m back. More one-pagers on deck. This time, it’s a bit of a murder mystery. I usually do something like mystery box stories for my campaigns—there’s a question the PCs need to resolve, and it generally has many layers and red herrings. That’s not something you can really do in a one-pager as it tends to be too complex. It’s also very different from a murder mystery. In a murder mystery, you generally know the answer and work back from there to find out what kind of clues might be left. In a mystery box game, there often isn’t a single answer and the clues themselves are often doorways to greater mysteries. A lot of times, events or items in my games that aren’t intended to be mysteries become mysteries because of how the PCs interact with them, creating greater complexity—I’m also a fan of improv game mastering. Rather than increasing complexity, as the story moves forward in a murder mystery, complexity is reduced—the number of possible answers reduces to one.
Story
The PCs are trouble-shooters for a government agency (or mega-corp) known as the Delegation—super secret squirrel stuff. They are called in as Control—a key figure who runs operations—is found dead in the Mission Room. An initial autopsy indicates heart failure, but Control’s last medical examination showed almost zero risk of heart disease. The team is called in to figure this out.
Places
The Mission Room: This is the nerve centre of the Delegation, where operations are directed. It is small with Control’s station, four other workstations. Control had arrived early (04:50) and was alone. No one else entered or exited the room that morning.
Control’s Quarters: Control lived alone. They had no intimate relationships. Their home is minimal but their grounds are relatively large, with many trees. They appreciated nature and spent much of their time on their patio. They had no pets but there are two empty saucers on the patio, and there is soft cat food in the fridge.
The Base: This is the Delegation complex where key figures—including Control—reside. It is a controlled access facility, meaning there are records of everyone on or off. There is nothing suspicious around the time of the death, except for any desired red herring.
People
The Cat: Surveillance footage of Control’s patio shows that a cat regularly arrived at their patio to be fed. Control used the saucers to feed the cat. Investigation of the Cat finds artificial Apicomplexa that are similar to Toxoplasma gondii—creating a very specific, very coercive from of toxoplasmosis. The Cat’s behaviour is dictated by this toxoplasmosis.
The Crew: Control—due to their position—interacted with a lot of the staff of Delegation, often on a daily basis. They have all undergone extreme assessment as they have the highest of classifications. They can be questioned. None are involved.
Events
The Intense Autopsy: A regular autopsy finds nothing—it’s heart failure! Deeper investigation reveals the remains of what looks like a retrovirus. Since Control’s last medical examination, their DNA has changed, inciting their heart failure. This was murder!
The Migration: The Cat travels from outside the Base, so is only tracked from its entry point to Control’s Quarters. It always uses the same entry point and route.
The Patent: A company financed by a rival state has a patent for a very similar retrovirus for repairing the DNA of those with susceptibility to heart disease in a manner similar to Control’s DNA. The company is also working on artificial Apicomplexa almost exactly the same as found in the Cat. It’s as close to a smoking gun as corporate sanctions are likely to have.